CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake's acting police chief said Wednesday that the investigation into a June 18 shooting that killed a child and wounded five others is getting close to completion, with all of the main suspects in custody.
Chief Craig Clausen gave that update on the case during a special Clearlake town hall Wednesday evening.
The June 18 shooting claimed the life of 4-year-old Skyler Rapp, who was buried on Wednesday.
The five people who were wounded and survived the nighttime attack included his mother, 22-year-old Desiree Kirby; her boyfriend, Ross Sparks, 25; his brother, Andrew Sparks, 23; Ian Griffith, 19; and Joey Armijo, 15.
The Wednesday town hall was organized by Clearlake City Council member Jeri Spittler in the wake of the shooting and in response to community concerns about public safety.
Clausen told those in attendance that he couldn't discuss the case in detail.
“I can say that the primary suspects are all in custody and the investigation is going very positively,” he said, adding, “We have the majority of the case as of now.”
In custody and facing charges that include murder, five counts of attempted murder, two counts of mayhem, six counts of assault with a deadly weapon and numerous special allegations are 23-year-old Orlando Joseph Lopez and 21-year-old Paul William Braden, both of Clearlake Oaks.
Facing the same charges is Kevin Ray Stone, 29, who was arrested July 1 after nearly two weeks on the run, as Lake County News has reported.
Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies arrested Stone and his girlfriend, 25-year-old Leighann Painchaud, in Santa Rosa after they were found together in a Ford Explorer that Painchaud allegedly stole from Clearlake on July 29, according to Clearlake Police.
Sgt. Tim Hobbs had said previously that Clearlake Police had seven days to transport Stone and Painchaud back to Lake County.
As of early Thursday morning, Stone – who had been booked into the Sonoma County Jail last week on an arrest warrant for murder – had not been transported and booked into the Lake County Jail, according to jail records.
A staffer with the Sonoma County Jail Main Adult Detention Facility said Painchaud had posted bail and been released on July 2.
Clausen told Lake County News on Wednesday that he didn't know when Stone was supposed to be transported, but he expected it to happen this week.
Braden, who was sentenced to state prison for a second-degree burglary conviction, was paroled on June 7 – just 11 days before the shooting – according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 1, while Lopez is scheduled to return to court later this week, based on his booking records.
Clausen told community members at the Wednesday town hall that the Clearlake Police Department is down to nine officers due to budget cuts and injuries.
However, “Even with nine guys we were able to wrap this case up very quickly,” he said to a round of applause.
He said he was able to put a total of 17 staffers – officers and nonsworn employees – on the street the night of the shooting in support of the investigation.
Police staff had to be told to go home to rest the next day – which happened to be Father's Day – because they didn't want to stop working the case before it was complete, Clausen said.
He said that desire to keep working the case showed the department's true dedication to bringing the suspects in the case to justice.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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